Whist-tray.



No. 859,942. PATENTBD JULY 16, 1907.

4. A HOBSON.

- WHIST TRAY.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 1D, 1905- f I I .fii/m Zr Masa @QW 4 THE "cams PETERS co, WASHINGTON. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBION W. HOBSON, .OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WHIST-TRAY.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBION W. HoBsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Whist-Trays, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is concerned with what are known as duplicate whist trays, and is designed to produce a device of the class described which shall be extremely simple in its construction, capable of being cheaply manufactured, and withal attractive in its appearance and effective in holding the cards.

I To illustrate my invention, I annex hereto a sheet of drawings, in which the same reference characters are used to designate identical parts in all the figures, of which,-

v Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tray embodying my invention, the position of the cards therein being indicated in dotted lines; and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the metallic portion. of the tray as it is stamped out and before it is bent up.

As will be seen, my tray consists of four similar parts, each part constituting a corner, and each part adapted to hold a hand of the cards. The basis of the tray is a sheet a, preferably of some light metal that can be japanned or otherwise treated to protect its surface, it desired. Each corner of this sheet is provided with the pair of upwardly extending and overhanging flanges b and c, which are adapted to engage and overhang the greater portion of the sides of the hands of cards to hold them on the tray and prevent their lateral displacement. Each corner is also provided with the upwardly-extending flanges d and e, adapted to engage the ends of the hands of cards and prevent their' longitudinal displacement. Adjacent the flanges d are the recesses or cut-away portions f of the tray, which permit of the ready gripping of the ends of the top and bottom cards of the hand to bend them up so that they can be disengaged irom the flange d, and then readily drawn from the pocket formed by the flanges. The sheet a is prefv erably backed with a sheet g, preferably made of cardboard, and preferably square in outline, except that it is cut away to correspond with the recesses f. This sheet g not being cut away at the center, as is the sheet a, furnishes a suitable place for the customary indices h and 7'.

While I may form the flanges b, c, d and e separately from the sheet a and secure them thereon in any desired manner, I preferably form them integrally therewith, by first stamping it out in the form shown in Fig. 2, and then forming the flanges by bending them on the dotted lines shown, in the manner that will be readily apparent.

While I have shown and described my invention as embodied in the form which I at present consider best Specification of Letters Patent.

Application flled July 10, 1905. Serial No. 268,907.

Patented July 16, 1907.

adapted to carry out its purposes, it will be understood that it is capable of modifications, and that I do not desire to be limited in the interpretation of the following claims except as may be necessitated by the state of the prior art.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is,-

1. A tray for the purpose described, having the plurality of rigid holders therein, each consisting of the pair of upwardly extending, oppositelydacing and overhanging flanges and the pair of opposed vertical flanges, and having the corresponding plurality ofcutaway portions for the purpose described.

2. A tray for the purpose described, having the generally square outline and provided with the four holders, one at each corner, each consisting of the pair of upwardly extending, oppositely-facing and overhanging flanges and the pair of opposed vertical flanges, and having the corresponding plurality of cut-away portions for the purpose described.

3. A tray for the purpose described, having the plurality of rigid holders, each consisting of the upwardly-extending, oppositely-facing and overhanging flanges and the opposed vertical flanges, one of the overhanging flanges of each set of said flanges being turned up from the edges of the tray, substantially as shown and described.

4. A tray for the purpose described, of 'a generally square outline, having the four holders, one at each corher, and each consisting of the upwardly-extending, oppositely-facing and overhanging flanges and the opposed vertical flanges, one of each set ofsaid flanges being turned up from the edges of the tray, and having the cut-away portions located between one of said edge flanges and the H adjacent corner of the tray.

5. A tray for the purpose described, formed from a single sheet of material, having the plurality of rigid holders, each consisting of the upwardly-extending, oppositely-facing and overhanging flanges and the opposed vertical flanges, said flanges being bent up from the body of the tray, and having the corresponding plurality of cutaway portions for the purpose described.

6. A tray for the purpose described, of a generally square outline, and having the four holders, one at each corner, the tray and holders being formedfrom a single sheet of material, the holders each consisting of the upwardly-extending, oppositely-facing and overhanging flanges and the opposed vertical flanges, one of each set of said flanges being turned up from the edges of the tray.

7. A tray for the purpose described, having the plurality of rigid holders, one at each corner thereof, and each consisting of the upwardly-extending, oppositely-facing and overhanging flanges and the opposed-vertical flanges, the body portion of said tray and holders being formed from a single sheet of metal and one of each set of said flanges being turned up from the edges thereof, and the covering for the under surface with the indices on said covering in the aperture in the body of the tray formed by cutting out and turning up the other one of each set of said flanges.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 6th day of July, 1905.

ALBION W. HOBSON. 

